Wedge advice

Miley Byrne

I am a 15 handicapper now having come down from 17 this year, but I need a bit of advice on wedges. I carry a 60 degree cleveland wedge (which I rarely use unless I'm behind a tree or something!!) and my SW and PW from my X-14 set of irons. I was out playing with a buddy recently and he had just bought a 56 degree spin milled vokey. Admittedly he is a 12 handicapper but I couldn't believe the amount of action he was getting on the ball (pro-v1). Nor could he by the way!! He went out and bought a 58 degree shortly after. I'm just wondering if I'm kidding myself by believing I'll get that much spin by using these wedges. What I'm thinking of getting is a SW and gapwedge cos I'm often caught between clubs. Before one of you suggest it, I don't want to use his wedges for a round cos i would be afraid of breaking them (reverse car over it, wrap it around a tree etc etc). I would prbably drop the 60 deg cleveland out of the bag cos it has actually cost me more shots than i have gained. I just have no confidence in it from a fairway lie, I tend to blade it then.

Advice please!!

TontoMurphy

Yep, loose the 60 degree wedge. Seen lots of people try and hit them from 100 yrds out and fail miserably. Too much loft on them. Pick up a Spin Milled 56 degree Vokey.. Bought one a few months ago and am using it constantly.. Balls check up great when you hit it properly and spin from further out. Think the run about €139 in McGuirks.
If you need to hit a shot where you'd normally hit the 60 degree, just open up the face of the 56 degree and let rip.. :-)

OilBeefHooked2

denisoc16 wrote: »

I am a 15 handicapper now having come down from 17 this year, but I need a bit of advice on wedges. I carry a 60 degree cleveland wedge (which I rarely use unless I'm behind a tree or something!!) and my SW and PW from my X-14 set of irons. I was out playing with a buddy recently and he had just bought a 56 degree spin milled vokey. Admittedly he is a 12 handicapper but I couldn't believe the amount of action he was getting on the ball (pro-v1). Nor could he by the way!! He went out and bought a 58 degree shortly after. I'm just wondering if I'm kidding myself by believing I'll get that much spin by using these wedges. What I'm thinking of getting is a SW and gapwedge cos I'm often caught between clubs. Before one of you suggest it, I don't want to use his wedges for a round cos i would be afraid of breaking them (reverse car over it, wrap it around a tree etc etc). I would prbably drop the 60 deg cleveland out of the bag cos it has actually cost me more shots than i have gained. I just have no confidence in it from a fairway lie, I tend to blade it then.

Advice please!!

Tbh I wouldn't say buying a new wedge will make any difference, if I was you I'd pratice/get a lesson with your current sw until your competent/comfortable with playing it from a tight lie, if you do get a lesson it'd be money alot better spent as you'd have a much better idea of the type of wedge you want imo.

Miley Byrne

david-k wrote: »

Tbh I wouldn't say buying a new wedge will make any difference, if I was you I'd pratice/get a lesson with your current sw until your competent/comfortable with playing it from a tight lie, if you do get a lesson it'd be money alot better spent as you'd have a much better idea of the type of wedge you want imo.

I don't have a problem hitting my SW from a tight lie David, I actually hit it very well, it's just that I dont feel like I have control over the ball when it drops. I always have to hit it maybe 5-10 yards short of the target to let it run on whereas I'd like to be able to maybe attack a bit more and get it to stop or even spin back a little. As I say I feel like I'm hitting the ball very well with my own SW but would like to go to the next level.

copacetic

TontoMurphy wrote: »

Yep, loose the 60 degree wedge. Seen lots of people try and hit them from 100 yrds out and fail miserably. Too much loft on them. Pick up a Spin Milled 56 degree Vokey.. Bought one a few months ago and am using it constantly.. Balls check up great when you hit it properly and spin from further out. Think the run about €139 in McGuirks.
If you need to hit a shot where you'd normally hit the 60 degree, just open up the face of the 56 degree and let rip.. :-)

thats like saying you drop the 8 iron because you have seen people fail miserably hitting them from 200 yards. There isn't 'too' much loft on a 60 degree wedge, you just have to hit it from the correct distance.

Personally I have the spin milled 56 and 60, use the 60 a lot around the green. However OP if you can't hit your current 60 degree a new one isn't going to help you out much. The spin milled are nice but they haven't made that much difference to the spin I get compared to the TM wedges I've had in the past. The strike you put on the ball and the ball itself are more important than the wedge.

My advice would be to practise with your current wedge before you try and change, the clevelands are good wedges and shape wise similar to the vokey.

Miley Byrne

TontoMurphy wrote: »

Yep, loose the 60 degree wedge. Seen lots of people try and hit them from 100 yrds out and fail miserably. Too much loft on them. Pick up a Spin Milled 56 degree Vokey.. Bought one a few months ago and am using it constantly.. Balls check up great when you hit it properly and spin from further out. Think the run about €139 in McGuirks.
If you need to hit a shot where you'd normally hit the 60 degree, just open up the face of the 56 degree and let rip.. :-)

My buddy bought his for €125 in the pro shop in Ballybunion. He got it for a good enough price so. Thanks for the advice, I'm totally sick of seeing my ball fizzing through the green from a position just in front after I have bladed it!!!!!:mad::mad:

TontoMurphy

copacetic wrote: »

thats like saying you drop the 8 iron because you have seen people fail miserably hitting them from 200 yards. There isn't 'too' much loft on a 60 degree wedge, you just have to hit it from the correct distance.

Personally I have the spin milled 56 and 60, use the 60 a lot around the green. However OP if you can't hit your current 60 degree a new one isn't going to help you out much. The spin milled are nice but they haven't made that much difference to the spin I get compared to the TM wedges I've had in the past. The strike you put on the ball and the ball itself are more important than the wedge.

My advice would be to practise with your current wedge before you try and change, the clevelands are good wedges and shape wise similar to the vokey.

As far as i can see, a lot of people believe that to get a ball to stop you have to hit it high.. and that is why a lot of guys i know hit one of the 60 degree wedges... Problem is that they are very difficult to hit properly to get the result you want. Personally i find the 56 degree Vokey much easier to hit and get much better results that a 60 degree.

Miley Byrne

It's not really the 60 deg I'm replacing tbh. I'm going to leave it out of the bag altogether. I just have no confidence in it. never had actually. I have been trying my best for a while now with my SW and while I am hitting it better I havent been able to control it on the green. I'm sure my Cleveland 60 deg it a fine club, just not for me!!! I also need a gap wedge as i said earlier simply because I tend to get caught out just at that yardage. So I just wanted to hear from similar handicappers to see how they find the Vokey spin milled wedges

Mister Sifter

With wedges it's just all about getting used to them and learning which one i best for which situation. A 60 degree wedge is a great tool to have in the bag. I can go rounds without using it, but every now and again it comes in very handy.

Sounds as though you could do with taking a bag of balls and finding a quiet green somewhere and having a good practice.

Also, they say 4 degrees between each wedge is best.

Trampas

denisoc16 wrote: »

I don't have a problem hitting my SW from a tight lie David, I actually hit it very well, it's just that I dont feel like I have control over the ball when it drops. I always have to hit it maybe 5-10 yards short of the target to let it run on whereas I'd like to be able to maybe attack a bit more and get it to stop or even spin back a little. As I say I feel like I'm hitting the ball very well with my own SW but would like to go to the next level.

What golf ball do you use?

That might cause the ball to run on a bit

Draupnir

I play Pitch and Putt with a Titleist Spin Milled 56 degree sand wedge and find it fantastic, the action on the ball is unlike anything I have played before. The only trouble is that sometimes you need to compensate for the spin on the longer shots by over playing them slightly

I got it at www.onlinegolf.co.uk for 80 quid delivered which was a great deal.

Miley Byrne

I tried the Pro-v1 for the most part Trampas, but still wasn't getting the desired results!! So I'm using the Titleist PTS Carry now because I dont see the point in using Pro v1s if I dont get the benefit

OilBeefHooked2

denisoc16 wrote: »

I don't have a problem hitting my SW from a tight lie David, I actually hit it very well, it's just that I dont feel like I have control over the ball when it drops. I always have to hit it maybe 5-10 yards short of the target to let it run on whereas I'd like to be able to maybe attack a bit more and get it to stop or even spin back a little. As I say I feel like I'm hitting the ball very well with my own SW but would like to go to the next level.

Is your home course ballybunion? if so then it's perfectly normal for your wedges(even the most lofted) to run out 5-10 yards this time of year.

BUACHAILL

can i just say that if your not getting any spin on the ball or check on the ball its simply the angle your hitting the ball at nothing more. the 60 degree wedge is different from the 56 in that you should be turning your whole body in line with your arms on the follow through and your distance is decided by your back swing. the 60 is really only of benefit from 70 or so yards in depending on how big a hitter you are. if your striking the ball correctly you can get spin from all your lofted clubs so i think more practice is needed on ball striking nothing more. stick with it keep it in the bag its as important as your putter

Miley Byrne

Not that lucky David!!! Just played it a couple of times this year.

Miley Byrne

Cheers Buachaill, TBH I'm not really too worried about the 60 deg cos I use it so rarely that it wouldn't bother me if I left it out and left 13 clubs in the bag. Believe me I have tried hard to get comfortable with it but I'd much prefer concentrate on the SW, GW, PW. Maybe if I get to single figures I'll get it from the garage and try it again!! I'll work on my striking some more but as I say I seem to be striking very solidly this year. Practice practice I suppose!!!

BUACHAILL

you can strike a ball solidly and not have spin. if your looking for spin you need to strike it deeper on the back of the ball. IMO if your striking it well, now is the best time to try get your spin going. as you say practice practice. single figure wont come until you have all these shots in the bag so why put off what you can work on today. i would personally leave it out of the bag on game day so temptation isnt there but i would be hitting it every other time i played till i mastered it, especially in the range etc